The Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees on Thursday approved a plan on how to spend $6.1 million for Native Hawaiians impacted by the federal government shutdown.
This comes amid continued uncertainty of benefit distribution for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP.
For qualified beneficiaries, SNAP recipients will receive $350 gift cards and furloughed federal workers will get up to $1,200 checks.
“When our people need help most, OHA will be there for them,” OHA Chair Kai Kahele said in a news release. “We look to provide money for nearly 15,000 of our most vulnerable beneficiaries with the $6.1 million we’ve set aside to address this emergency so that they can buy food and pay for other essential household needs.”
People eligible for gift cards who are kūpuna 60 years or older, low-income adults or disabled beneficiaries who receive SNAP benefits but are excluded from the state’s Hawai‘i Relief Program.
Those who qualify for the checks need to be Native Hawaiian furloughed federal workers earning no more than 400% of the federal poverty level.
OHA will work with the Hawaiian Council to disperse the program. Applications open Nov. 10.
